Repartee
by Beth - Geek Chick
Summary: Annie asks Auggie to teach her how to fight. Jai puts his master plan into motion, calling in a favor to Ben. Canon, set six months after Season 2 finale. Changed rating to T - mild foul language. Now complete!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey, guys. Different setup than my normal style. 1st person past tense, rotating POVs.**

**Canon, set six months after Season 2 finale.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Annie POV<strong>

It'd been about six months now since Auggie gave me his convertible. I paid him $1, and he handed me the title. Then he went away, and I went home to stifle my slightly cracked heart with a pint of ice cream. I took the time he was gone to think.

And what I decided to do was – move on. What else was there to do? It was either that or allow Auggie to hurt me as much as Ben had. Once bitten and all that. The one difference, though, between the two men that I'd allowed into my heart was that I'd never stopped caring for Auggie.

I mean, sure, the romantic feelings I had came at the wrong time – you think? – but it didn't change our friendship at the core of it all.

So I grieved when he left, but when he came back two weeks later, I was the first one he called. That phone conversation settled any little bit of unease between us. I'd went over to his apartment. We talked, drank, ate. He never spoke about what he did when he was gone, and I never asked. I knew he'd open up when he wanted to.

We didn't talk, either, about that awkward conversation we had before he left. I figured he'd bring it up, as it was kind of "unfinished business," but the hug he pulled me into when I arrived at his apartment, and the fact that he grabbed "my" hand and held it as I told him about my first kill showed that he understood.

He knew I needed a friend, a close friend. A small part of me still felt more, though, and I'd decided at the time to not squelch it completely. At least until I knew there was no way he reciprocated my feelings.

It'd been months now since that night, and if anything, we were closer. Was that possible? If I thought we were best friends before, we were more than that now. Best-er friends? Bestest? Gramatically incorrect, but it seemed to fit. Besides, I refused to treat what we had in any kind of category. Not anymore. Doing that had already nearly blown up in my face.

We were at our normal table at Allen's now, talking, hanging out, winding down after a particularly grueling week. One that left me with more than a few bruises. At least the guy didn't aim for my face. I sighed a little too loudly, which caused my tablemate to turn in my direction with a cocked eyebrow.

"Bored with my company already?" he teased. "We've only been here an hour."

"I'll never be bored hanging out with you," I said with a reassuring hand to his arm. "Just thinking of that fight – and my lack of fighting skills."

He didn't reply, only seemed deep in thought, his forehead all crinkled up. If only I could read minds, I thought, as Auggie wasn't the most expressive of people.

"What are you thinking?" I finally asked.

"I seem to remember helping you with that a while back," he said with a shrug. "Forget already?" he asked with a smirk.

"A few holds and break-holds aren't going to work with an opponent who fights dirty," I pointed out. "I thought the gun training would help, but –"

"It's not always possible to pull your gun or discharge it safely," he finished with a nod.

"What do you suggest?" I asked.

"There's all types of fighting disciplines. Which one are you looking to get into?"

I shook my head, "I'm not looking to get a belt in anything, Auggie. I need to get myself onto an even ground with these guys. Dirty fighting, out-and-out, hair-pulling, street brawls."

"Geez. Are you sure?" he asked, and I swear, he looked startled. It would've been funny had I not been completely serious.

And serious, I was. Fighting had nothing to do with smarts, and it can't be read in a book nor learned watching a video. I had to learn by doing. "Yep. So, you up for another role as me student, you teacher?"

Auggie choked on the mouthful of beer he'd just drank. I waited patiently until the color returned back to his face and he replied.

"You want me to teach you?"

"Yes, that's what I've been talking about."

He started to shake his head, and my heart sank. "Auggie, please."

"You know the gym has classes for this sort of thing," he pointed out.

Yeah, I knew. I also saw how the burly, hairy "teacher" took a little too much effort with the female students. "Come on. If you want, I'll pay you."

He cocked his head to me at that and said with a resigned sigh, "Yeah, I'll do it. But you don't have to pay me."

"Thank you!" I said, sighing with relief. "I knew I could count on you."

"Yeah, yeah," he said with a smile. "But don't think I'm gonna go easy on you."

I clinked my beer bottle against his in a toast. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

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><p>The prospect of learning how to fight revitalized me, and I couldn't wait to start. I'd never backed down from a challenge, and I was sure I'd excel at it, but first thing's first. I needed the knowledge.<p>

Auggie said we'd have to do this in our own time, as he was pretty sure Joan wouldn't be one to sanction the type of fighting he was about to teach me. Which made me all the more excited to start. Joan always seemed to know so much, it'd be a treat to have a part of my life she didn't know about.

That Saturday morning, I arrived at an address that Auggie had texted to me. My GPS told me I was in the right place, but all I saw was an old warehouse. Well, I thought, maybe it was some kind of low rent gym.

I opened the heavy front door to find I was right. The place was lined with mats, punching bags, bars. It definitely needed a cleaning, though. And it was completely empty. I checked my watch and saw that I was right on time. So where was –

"Oof!"

The air left my lungs so fast, I was panting as I stumbled forward, trying not to lose my balance. Who the hell pushed me? I was about to wheel around to confront the rude idiot who was playing games when two arms pinned my arms to my sides, and I felt myself lifted into the air.

"What would you do?" A husky voice rasped in my ear.

I knew that voice. "Auggie, what are you doing?" I squeaked, all my limbs frozen in fear.

"What would you do?" Auggie asked again, keeping his voice low and in my ear. "Tell me, Annie, what would you do if you were attacked like this?"

"Auggie, come on," I said, only to feel his arms grip tighter around me, causing my breath to constrict. "I can't breathe."

"That's your answer? Your attacker's going to give up because you can't take a breath?" Auggie growled, bending back slightly, throwing off my equilibrium. "Tell me, Annie, what would you do?"

I knew then he wasn't going to let me go, and I was close to panicking. Our fight training in the past was always so controlled, so ordered. This scared me, and I wasn't sure what he expected me to do.

His arms clenched again, and a slight sting of pain caused something in me to snap, and I began to fight. My arms were useless beside me, and the angle of his body to mine made a well-placed backwards headbutt useless.

But my legs were free. I began kicking them backwards, first one, then the other. I made contact with his kneecap several times, increasing my force until finally I hit him hard enough that he grunted with pain, and he stumbled backwards, and his grip on me eased.

I whipped my head back and felt my skull collide against his face. Once more, his arms loosened. Another whip of my head, and my feet hit the floor.

His arms were still around me, his fists gripped just under my breasts, but they weren't as tight as before, and it allowed for a little bit of movement. I balled my right hand into a fist and drove my elbow into his ribs. His grip completely broken, I went into a crouch and swung one leg around, knocking him completely off of his feet.

He was now flat on his back, and I dropped to the ground beside him, placing one knee on his torso and my hand on his throat. My headbutts must have hit their mark, as a bead of blood was present at the corner of his mouth.

"Give," he choked out, his hands raised in surrender.

As angry as I was at his attack, I had half a notion to keep my knee planted in his solar plexus, but with a huff, I backed off, releasing my grip and standing up.

"What the hell was that?" I yelled.

He didn't answer immediately, only made his way to his feet and with the back of his hand wiped the blood off of his mouth. "You said street fighting, dirty. Your assailant is not going to bow or give respect or announce himself before attacking."

"I know!" I said, my voice echoing in the empty room. Shaking my head, I paced around, my hands on my hips while I tried to gain my breath and composure. "I just didn't – well, expect that from you."

Even in previous sparring, he'd never held me that tight or caused me pain. Every time he'd dropped me, it was with a smile and a hand out to help me back up. That's what I was expecting. It was on the tip of my tongue to quit, walk out, and endure the handsy teaching of the agency's personal trainer. But I wasn't one to give up that easily.

"Okay," I said. "I understand what you want to do. But a little more instruction, maybe, less fighting right off the bat? If this is what you're planning to do every week, I may as well just learn on the job."

He contemplated my proposal a bit before answering, "Fine, but I'm not going easy on you. I expect you to come home, in one piece, every time. And I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that happens."

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><p><strong>Auggie POV<strong>

Yeah, I was more than surprised when Annie asked me to teach her street fighting. She'd been coming along in regular sparring, and her gun training now meant she had another level of defense when she went out into the world.

She was winning more fights, too, but I guess that wasn't enough for her. She wanted to win all the time, with less bruising. I'd wanted to tell her that wasn't possible, and there was no dishonor in knowing when to run away, but of course, she talked me into being her teacher.

Yeah, she had to really twist my arm. Geez, since when did I turn into such a sap? I'd endured torture, mind games from the best trainers the government had to buy. Yet with one "please" from Annie Walker, I was saying "yes." Maybe it was time to hand in my qualifications and takea job as a kindergarten teacher.

Well, I thought, at least she's not terrorist. She was one of the good guys, and I wasn't kidding when I said I expected her to come home after every trip. She'd become a very important part of my life, and I wasn't willing to give up on her, not now or ever.

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><p><strong>Jai POV<strong>

I twisted around in my desk chair, allowing my eyes to fill up with the view my office afforded. It used to be something I craved – an office with a window, or in this case, a wall full of windows. But what they never told you that that view never changed. And after six months of seeing the same thing through the same set of windows, my feet were itching again.

"Director of the Office of Special Projects," I said out loud. Sure, anything after the word "director" didn't mean much in the scheme of things. People only saw the word "director." It worked almost as well as the title of "president" in a civilian company. Reputation and standing were the only things that mattered in the CIA, and in my short time here, I'd gotten both.

It wasn't my end-all, though. I wanted what my father wanted, and I would get it quicker and hold onto it longer than he. Henry Wilcox's problem was that he thought he was above it all and could shake hands with someone without checking first to see if his nails were dirty. He didn't care. And that was his downfall.

I wasn't going to fail. I'd set aside the next two years to gain my ultimate goal – Director of the Office of Clandestine Service. That was my cake. Director of the CIA would be the icing, but that required contacts at the presidential level and was looked on as what you did the final few years prior to retirement. One thing at a time, I thought.

My father attempted to take down Arthur directly, and he'd failed – just like I knew he would. I scoffed at the thought now. Sleeping with a whore reporter? How lame. Besides, Arthur was surrounded by too many lackeys to attack head-on. I planned to hit Arthur where he was the weakest – his wife.

Joan Campbell made my life hell for a year, misusing my talent and treating me like the dirt on the bottom of her shoes. But I'd used that time to make a mental list of where she failed. Maybe I shouldn't have let her in on my ultimate plan to one day take her job, but I couldn't resist.

And I held onto that subtle blink she'd given away. She tried to be so prepossessing, but she was human. And she did not deserve where she was.

Waiting was never my forte, but I had to let nerves settle and memories fade before pulling my next trick. The downfall of Joan Campbell. It wouldn't take much. I only needed to pull one string, and the unravelling would commence.

My staff was busy, my office hopping. I made sure to delegate my duties to the nth degree so I could work on what's really important. I was contemplating all this when I saw something that would make my life all the much easier. Ben Mercer. I whistled through my teeth, thanking every higher deity that came to mind for the luck.

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><p><strong>Ben POV<strong>

I never liked coming in-house for these occasional meetings. Everyone looked at me as I walked past. If they knew who I was, their eyes held awe and wonder. If they didn't, they assumed I was a terrorist being brought in for interrogation. I could change that with a suit and a shave, but really, who cared?

I kept to the side hallways as I made my way to the conference room. Less chance of running into people. Or so I thought.

"Ben!"

Damn. Jai Wilcox. I turned with a fake welcoming smile on my face. "Jai."

He was more well-dressed than I remembered him, and he was walking out of a large office. My eyes caught the nameplate. Damn again. My old handler was now a director in his own right?

"Seriously, Jai?"

He smiled at me again and waved me through. I had no time for catching up, but thought what would it hurt? "Congratulations," I said, as he shut the door behind me.

"It's nothing I didn't deserve. You heard, I assume?"

I shrugged, "Not really. Been out of country and off the grid for a while now. They don't really have newspapers in all those places."

"Of course," he replied, his smile slipping a little. Hell, what did he expect? He knew what I was, what I did. "Now that you're back, I'd like to call in that favor you owe me."

Crap. "Now, Jai? I don't really have the time."

"Yes, now. And don't worry. It won't be anything you haven't already done."

The way he said that, with a leer and a smirk, turned my stomach. Ick. Did the man ever look in the mirror when he practiced these moves? No wonder he's not married yet. I don't see what woman would fall for his schtick more than one week at a time.

"Spill it, Jai, I've got a meeting to get to," I said, making a show of checking my watch for the time.

"Annie Walker."

Now, that had my attention. She may have walked away from me, but I refused to give up on us. "What about her?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist. I'm just worried that Joan's not using her to her full advantage. She's beautiful and talented, yet Joan's got her hopping across the world doing brush passes."

"And what do you want me to do? Talk her into joining your office?"

"Hardly. Just remind her of her full potential. She did her best work when she was with you, remember that."

Yeah, I remembered. We did great work together. And it'd give me a reason to stop by, say hi. Without her walking away again. "Why not?"

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><p><strong>Read and reivew, if you would. Spent a lot of time putting this together. :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N :) Enjoy. And please leave a review.**

**Ben POV**

I took a pretty deep breath as I stood outside her house. Well, her sister's house. I couldn't quite believe she was still here. If it were me, I'd want a place of my own, but Annie had always surprised me. At least I hoped she still lived here. Her red VW was nowhere to be found, and a sweet convertible sat outside.

But all the intel I got showed that Annie Walker still resided here, and from what I can tell from the lights on inside, she was home. Well, I was here. Better knock before the neighbors called the cops to report a stalker.

When she answered, I smiled. Her presence always did that to me. "Hi, Annie."

"Ben? What are you doing here?" she asked, her mouth hanging open in what I guessed was shock.

"Had to check in with the bosses, thought I'd come by to say hello, catch up, before heading out again." Yeah, that'd work. It was close to the truth, though my original plan had me just seeing her from afar and thinking about what could have been.

I could see her thinking. She blinked a lot when she did that. I wonder if she knew. It was quite the tell. I took in her appearance while she formulated an answer. She looked ready to go for a run. Tight tank top that stopped a couple of inches short of yoga pants that hung on her hips. Damn, she looked even better than I remembered.

"I've gotta head out soon, but if you want to come in for a coffee?"

I nodded and walked in. I'd never been in her place before and took the time to look around. The aesthetics reflected her life – eclectic and items from every corner of the world. Before I could look any closer, she was leading me over to a breakfast bar.

As she set the Keurig coffee machine to brew, I asked, "How have you been?"

"Great, Ben. What did you expect? Me to be pining over you and crying over my decision to walk away?"

"No," I answered truthfully. "It hurt when you walked away, but you did what you had to do. I'm proud of you, Annie."

That seemed to have done it, and the shell that she'd put up ever since she opened the door and realized it was me on the other side cracked.

"Thanks."

We spent the next half hour talking more over coffee, her on one side of the breakfast bar and me on the other. It reminded me of when we first met. Just talking and learning about each other. Back then I was keeping my real identity secret and living in a dream world that had me and her living happily ever after. Now both of our lives were out in the open, and we could talk freely.

I wanted to ask so many things, but I knew when to step back and let her live her life. Besides, I was here for a reason. Jai's subtle blackmail under the guise of "owing him one." Yeah, I did. But that favor was way too old for him to bring it out now. The only reason I said yes is that it gave me a reason to see her again.

What he said, though, didn't seem to ring with the truth I saw in front of me. Without going into too much detail, Annie told me about some of the missions she'd been on and her extended training. I mean, damn, the girl was the furthest away from being underutilized. In my opinion, she needed a vacation.

"Oh no, I'm late," she said, jumping up off of her stool and grabbing both of our coffee cups.

"Too bad, this has been nice," I said, following her out of the house and waiting while she locked up.

"Yeah, it has been. So, see you in a couple of years when you breeze through town again?"

I laughed and nodded, "It's a date."

She laughed, too, and then to my surprise, threw her arms around my neck in a hug. I embraced her tight, knowing in her line of work, it may be the last time either of us sees one another.

"Take care of yourself, Walker," I said, while she climbed in the convertible.

"Good-bye, Ben."

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><p><strong>Auggie POV<strong>

She was late. I fought against calling her and told myself that it'd only been 15 minutes, and she probably got caught in traffic. Yeah, that was probably it. Five more minutes, though, and I'm calling her cell. Not that I wanted to do this. Last week should've been enough for me to calling off this training, or tell her she's got the gist of it and refuse to do anymore.

But I was afraid. Afraid that if she didn't learn this from me, she'd learn it from someone else who didn't know what they were doing. I tried to disassociate during our sessions, but every time she cried out in pain or grunted, all I wanted to do was soothe her pain and hug her. Yeah, I had it bad.

There's nothing more I wanted than to act on that slow burn of desire that was slowly eating me from the inside. But my self-control tamped it down again. No, there's no way anything would come of my fantasies and day dreams. Annie deserved better. She deserved someone whole that could take her places.

Before I could think any further on the subject, the warehouse door creaked open, and she was rushing in.

"Auggie, I'm so sorry I'm late."

"No problem," I said, maybe a little gruffer than I meant. "You ready? We obviously don't have as much time to do this today."

"Geez, I said I was sorry, Auggie," she said as I heard her drop her things and walk up to me. "Okay, what are we going to do today?"

"Turn around," I said. As soon as I heard the swish of her hair, I made my move. Standard chokehold with the forearm pressed against the carotid will render someone unconscious in a very short amount of time. I grinned when her hands came up quickly, not allowing the hold completely. I got her shoulder, though, and held tight.

While she pulled and applied pressure to my arm to break the hold, I got a whiff of something more than her signature scent. Her normal perfume was subtle, and I used any time I was close enough to her to inhale deeply. But there was something else on top of it, another scent that was stronger, and slightly familiar.

"Did you switch perfumes or something?" I asked.

"Huh?" she grunted, pulling and twisting against me.

"You smell like you grabbed some aftershave instead of perfume this morning," I said.

She stopped struggling for a second. "Oh, that. I – I had a visitor this morning. Unexpected. It was why I was late."

"A visitor?" I really didn't want to know, yet craved the information at the same time.

"Yeah, Ben's in town for a bit and wanted to say hi," she said before resuming her struggling.

She didn't need to, though, 'cause the moment that man's name hit my ears, I let her go in shock. She stumbled a couple of steps before turning around.

"Really? You're back with that jerk again? I didn't take you to be a masochist."

I heard her break intake sharply and almost wanted to say I was sorry, but hell, why should I? It was the truth, and if she wanted to screw up her life, who was I to stand in her way? A small part of me knew I was being petty and petulant, but I couldn't help it.

"Are you serious?"

I shrugged, then motioned for her to resume our training. She got back in position in front of me, and once again, I put her in the choke hold. No, it wasn't tighter than it was before and probably wouldn't leave bruises, I told myself.

She, obviously, thought different and began struggling and grunting. I didn't relent, however, and it was only the feeling of her nails sinking deep into my forearm that caused me to relent and release her again.

"What the hell is your damage?" she yelled.

"Don't know what you're talking about," I yelled, rubbing at the indentions on my skin.

"Don't pull that passive-aggressive crap with me," she said. "Since when do who I talk to matter to you?"

She was right, and I felt a slight sting of shame. "I just don't want to see you hurt again," I said.

I heard her sigh and take a step closer to me. "We talked, Auggie. That's all. We're fine."

"Good," I said, trying to fight back the smile that news gave me.

"Glad you approve."

The sarcasm wasn't hidden, though. "You're mad at me now?"

"Ding ding, give the man a prize."

I didn't quite follow her logic. "You're mad at me because I care about you?"

"I'm mad because you care, yet you never want to do anything about it."

Again, her words and my understanding weren't meeting in the middle. "I still don't follow."

She huffed, "You wouldn't. Why don't we get back to work? Without you trying to kill me."

"No," I said, holding my hands up, "Not until you explain yourself."

"Now?"

"Why not?"

"Okay, fine. Would you date me?"

I wasn't sure I heard her correctly, but I knew I did. Did she just say – holy crap. Every part of me wanted to shout out an affirmative, but my self-preserving instinct kicked in, and I chuckled, "You're asking me out?"

"That answers my question," she said, and I felt a brush across my arm as she walked towards the door.

"Annie, wait."

"What, Auggie? I think you made your feelings very clear just then."

Damn, I thought. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut? Now I'd gone and hurt her even worse than our sparring had done. "Annie, come on. This isn't fair. You don't want someone like me. You deserve the best."

"You jackass."

What I heard in addition to the door slamming shut was the tears in her parting words. Nice going, Anderson. How the hell am I going to get out of the stranglehold she just put on my heart?


	3. Chapter 3

**Annie's POV**

As I left the warehouse, I felt angry and frustrated. Hadn't I just thought that morning that, out of Auggie and Ben, Auggie was the one for me because he always had my back? That he'd never turn away from me? Within the span of an hour, I had encounters with both of them, and now I was seriously contemplating changing my mind.

Geez, I thought, is this why people turned to asexuality? Or was that something you're born with? I didn't know. All I knew was, if this was what love did to you – intentionally hurt and snipe at each other - I wanted nothing to do with it.

I had enough of fighting and arguing and back-biting on the job. What I wanted – what I craved was someone I could come home to and feel safe with, feel loved and trusted.

I dropped into the driver's seat of my convertible, laughing through my tears and rage at the fact that I was sitting in his car. It was supposedly a show, a sign of his feelings for her, but I wondered at that now.

I knew I was in no position to drive. My sight was glazed with tears that threatened to fall, and I felt no compunction to take out my anger on the driving public on a Saturday morning.

I leaned back on the headrest and shut my eyes, willing myself to calm down. Within a few minutes, my eyes were drying, and my heart rate was returning to normal. That is, until I heard my name being spoken.

"Annie?"

It was soft, a question, and full of remorse. Of course, I knew immediately who it was. I'd hoped he'd stay there until I left or at least leave without knowing I was still there. But of course, he knew. He always knew.

I risked opening my eyes, and almost immediately wished I hadn't. He stood at the passenger side, his jacket on, his messenger bag slung across his chest. He held his cane in front of him, both hands on it. Then I looked at his face. He looked almost scared and, dare I say it, hopeful?

I leaned over and opened the passenger side door. I knew he wouldn't leave, and my taking off, leaving him standing there, would be meaner than I felt right now.

He slid in, and we sat in silence for a couple of minutes before he spoke.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Auggie."

"No, it's not. I hurt you. I never meant to, it's just –"

I allowed him a minute to gather his thoughts. There wasn't really anything I could say. He did need to apologize. He needed to explain himself. I felt no want to take back what I said. He knew how I felt about him long ago. We'd wordlessly moved beyond it – or so I thought.

"First off, tell me I didn't hurt you – physically."

"No, no lasting effects," I said truthfully. I'd protested at the time because he held me tighter than he ever had before, with no give for me to break the grip. "What about you?"

"Nothing I didn't deserve," he said, rubbing his forearm where I'd sunk my fingernails in. "About what I said, Annie –"

"Which part?" I interrupted. "Where you were butting into who I could or couldn't talk to? Or when you said I wasn't good enough for you?"

"That's not what I said, but both, I guess. You told me when we first met that you'd never get burned like you did with Ben, and I've seen you every time he came back around. You run out after him, then come crying back. It kills me, Annie."

That hit me hard, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond. I'd been so caught up in me and Ben, that I'd forgotten I'd inadvertently brought Auggie into our relationship. "It's over, Auggie. For good."

He nodded, and there was no hint of the smirk or smile that he'd given me not 15 minutes ago. That left only the second part of our conversation, one that I refused to bring up again. He'd made himself perfectly clear that he didn't want to look at me anymore than a friend, and I just had to live with that.

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><p><strong>Auggie POV<strong>

It'd taken every ounce of nerve for me to get in that car. I'd rather face down the toughest terrorist than have this conversation. But everything hinged on this. My worst fear, that I'd actually harmed her, was allayed. But that was just physical.

She'd been hurt by so many others, the fact that I'd purposely added my name to that list was my worst nightmare. I had to tell her why. It was kind of ironic that we were having this conversation in the convertible. This is where it all started, all those months ago.

"I would love to go out with you, Annie. The day we met, I'd thought of nothing else for a couple of days."

"But?"

I could tell she wasn't in the mood for reminiscing, so I cut to the chase. "Then I got to know you, and figured out pretty quickly that you were unlike any other woman I'd ever met. You really threw me for a loop."

"Auggie, please."

So, bottom line, it was. I only hoped the end of this conversation didn't end with me calling for a cab back to my apartment because she threw me out.

"I did fall for you, Annie. I fell hard, and despite not wanting to allow myself, I fell in love with you."

"Auggie," I heard her whisper, and her hand grabbed mind, much like she had that day I gave her my car. Then it had taken me by surprise, and I'd regrettably recoiled. Now, however, I hung onto it like a lifeline.

"I know, a story like this is one for the books, right? A Lifetime movie, if anything. But those stories are pretend, Annie. This is real life, and I can't – I mean, you deserve to be able to go out and live your life, travel the world, kick major ass. I think it's more than obvious that I wouldn't be able to share that with you. I'd only hold you back."

And there it was, and I rallied myself for the hurt that'd come – for both of us.

"You know, for someone who's borderline genius, you really are stupid sometimes."

Well, that was unexpected. "What?"

"Who do you think inspires me to go out and travel the world? To kick major ass? It's you, Auggie."

"You were doing all that way before you met me."

"Jesus, would you just listen to me? Yes, my drive for adventure I was born with, but this job requires more than that. You were there with me the whole time."

"I was just trying to be a friend."

"This conversation is going nowhere. And your argument is illogical. You've gone out by yourself plenty of times – remember Istanbul?"

Damn, she got me there. And the way her fingers were subtly stroking my palm didn't help my stance. "I can't promise that I won't hurt you again," I said, knowing I was grasping at straws here.

Her hand released mine then, and for a second, I thought maybe my argument had worked, but no. Her soft fingers slid along my jaw, lighting my skin on fire. I could do nothing but press into that warmth.

"The only way you could hurt me," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion, "is if you pushed me away now."

Then her lips were on mine, a soft press and release. It wasn't nearly enough, and that wall I'd struggled to maintain between us blew away to ash. She'd only moved away a couple of inches, perhaps gauging my response, and respond I did. My hands raised quickly to her head, making sure she didn't move any further away, and I kissed her.

I poured everything into that kiss – two years worth of desire and want and holding back. While her kiss was sweet, mine was nothing more than a branding. If she pushed me away now, at least I'd have the memory of this.

But, then I realized, she wasn't pushing me away. She was taking everything I gave her and returning it – kiss-for-kiss, taste-for-taste. Both our hands were grasping, stroking, diving into each others' hair.

When it broke, we were both panting, foreheads pressed against each other, neither wanting to let go. "Annie, are you sure about this?" I asked.

"If you push me away now, I will steal your cane, drive you into the desert and leave you to the wolves," she said with a laugh.

"So, that's a yes?"

She never truly answered, only kissed me once more, much like she had at first – soft and sweet. It was enough for me. And then she pulled back from me, and I heard her car door open.

"Come on," she said.

"You want to train now?" I asked, thinking that there were much better ways to spend the time, given our brand new breakthrough.

"Well, if you don't want to put your arms around me and throw me down on the ground, Auggie, I could always just drive you home and go do my laundry."

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen, I thought, as I quickly opened the passenger side door. She was right there when I stood and took my hand, leading me back inside the warehouse.

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><p><strong>AN Don't know what it is, but I can never leave anybody at odds and arguing without having them make up as quickly as possible. :) Next chapter or couple of chapters, considering how the conversatiosn go, will round out the rest of the storylines. How do you think Jai's going to take Ben's report back about Annie?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Annie POV**

I padded on my bare feet out of Auggie's bathroom, feeling fresh and clean courtesy of a shower after our "training session" this morning. After the argument, the fight, and the making up, we finally got into some actual "work," until we were both exhausted and sweaty. Neither of us felt like parting, though, so he invited me back to his place to spend the rest of the day.

Stopping at the doorway, I took in the sight of him lounging on the couch. He looked completely at ease with himself, and I just wanted to curl up in his lap. As if sensing my presence, his head inclined towards me, and he lifted his hand.

I gave into my impulse and walked over. Gently, I climbed into his lap, straddling his thighs with my own. The position could be construed as sexual, but that wasn't what I was thinking about now. I leaned down and lay my head against his shoulder, curling into his warmth.

His chest shook with a laugh. "Comfortable?" he asked, raising his hands to my shoulders and arms.

"Mm, hmm," I said. My eyes caught sight of his forearm and the four crescent-shaped bruises forming there where I'd sunk my nails in trying to break his grip earlier. I raised his arm to my lips and brushed a soothing kiss across them. "Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore. How about you? No lasting effects?"

"No, I'm good." And I truly was. I thought back to that morning, when I'd dreamed of finding a man to feel comfortable with and trusted implicitly. I'd wanted that person to be Auggie, but his reasons for pushing me away? Laughable. "Did you really think I was too good for you?" I asked, shaking my head.

He started stroking my hair, and I bit back a moan at the sensation. "Yeah, not very smart on my part, I gotta say. I didn't want anyone else to have you, but I never thought you'd want me like that."

"Silly man. Never thought of you as someone with self-esteem issues," I teased.

His chest rose again with a loud scoff. "What about you? It took you two years to ask me out."

"Huh, as I remember, you were always otherwise engaged," I countered.

"Just trying to fill the void, is all," he answered.

The silence stretched between us for a few minutes then. I could have easily fallen asleep in such a position, as comfortable and safe as he made me feel. But my weight on his legs and chest couldn't be good for him, and I shifted a bit.

"You can stay, if you want."

"I do want, but my legs are gonna cramp soon, and as someone's stomach just growled, how about some lunch?"

"Mm, I've got some leftovers in the fridge," he said.

"Uh-uh, we're going out. We've got a lot of time to make up for."

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><p><strong>Jai's POV<strong>

As soon as I saw the large manila envelope on my desk when I walked in Monday morning, my mood intensely brightened. Ben Mercer had let me down. All I asked for was one favor, and the man acted like the coward I knew he was. "Annie's doing fine," he told me on the phone yesterday as he headed out of country.

He was probably still so besotted of the blonde that he could only see her with stars in his eyes. No matter, I always had a backup plan, and it seemed to have paid off. Making sure no one was around, I slid the 8x10s out of the packet. Good enough. Proof that Joan Campbell's star operative was still on more-than-friendly terms with an unstable rogue op. A full-on hug, smiles, and clear pictures of both their faces.

It'd do as tangible proof if it was needed. My work, though, seemed to be doing quite well without my interference as, during a meeting of all us directors later that day, Joan was taken to task for two failed missions in one week.

Afterwards, I could see the telltale clenching of her jaw, showing how angry she was. I waited until most everyone was out of hearing distance before I pounced.

"Is it true, Joan, that you've got Ben Mercer lurking around the department again?"

"What?"

I shrugged, "Ben. Annie. Figured you'd put an end to that by now," I said with a smirk. Yeah, it was way too easy to get under Joan's skin. "You know, romance has a way of bringing down the best of operatives."

She arched an eyebrow at me and countered, "Like when you were trying to romance her when she first arrived?"

I was about to respond that I was under orders regarding that, but she kept talking, "Besides, Auggie's keeping her close."

I didn't bother holding back my laughter on that one. "August Anderson. Sure he's with us, as well? Going off grid in Afghanistan to find the guy who took his sight? Surprised he's still here, given how half of him is pining over that chick in Africa."

"Since when are my employees your concern, Jai? Don't you have your own department to oversee?"

I shrugged, "Just trying to help."

"The day I need help from a Wilcox – well, that day will never come," she said, walking away.

My next volley came sooner than I expected. A department head was retiring, and everyone received an invite to the ceremony, including the CIA Director, newly appointed David Petraeus. I might've had more luck with Leon Panetta, but he'd moved on last year, and General Petraeus was appointed. Panetta, I found, was more of a politician and would've been sympathetic to my position.

Petraeus spent his life as a soldier, but he was our boss now. And there was no time like the present to start shmoozing.

"Director?" I said, walking up to his side when his latest well-wisher left. "Jai Wilcox, sir, Office of Special Projects?"

"Yes, of course, Wilcox, I've heard of you and your family," he said with a smile, accepting my hand with a firm shake. "How is Henry?"

"My father is doing well, sir. I'll tell him you inquired."

"The Office of Special Projects, huh? Interesting choice," he said with a smirk.

"Yes, interesting would be the word for it. I'd be more interested in the Domestic Protection Division, to be truthful, sir."

"Would you now?" he asked, and I couldn't quite fathom the look on his face, but I soldiered on, so to speak.

"Yes, sir. I've been watching the department for a while now, and I'm not too comfortable with the way Joan Campbell is handling things. She doesn't seem to have too tight of a handle on her employees."

"It's only been six months since you were awarded your own department, Wilcox," he replied, his demeanor hardening faster than I've ever seen in a man not in uniform. "If it's not challenging enough, I suggest you find another profession."

"Sir, I'm not sure you understand, I worked in that department for over a year. I think I know what's going on there a little better than you, no offense."

"I take offense, Wilcox. Personally, I thank you for giving us the leak as you did, given it was a member of your own family. You were rewarded. Don't make us regret that decision. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do."

He turned and walked away from me then, and it was only by sheer will that I kept the smile on my face. Thankfully, no one else had heard our conversation, so it couldn't be used against me. No matter. CIA directors came and went with each succeeding presidency, so Petraeus' opinion of me wouldn't have any long-lasting effects.

However, it was the last card I had to play. My deck was empty, and it seemed I'd be stuck looking out the same window at the same view for much longer than I'd anticipated. Damn.

Light female laughter nearby pulled me out of my own little world. I turned to see Annie and Auggie standing close to each other. A little too close by my estimation. With narrowed eyes, I saw her step up close to him and look up into his face. I could see the love and admiration shining from her large brown eyes. And all for a man who'd never be able to see it.

My chest tightened as I realized that could have been me. I had my chance, but I was so busy reaching for the golden ring that I'd completely missed what was right in front of my face. Happiness.

The get-together had suddenly lost its glitter to me, and I exited, heading towards my office. Maybe, I thought, maybe it was time to stop trying to live up to the impossible standards set before me by my father. I was done living in his shadow.

**THE END**

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><p><strong>AN So, four chapters. It pretty much stayed how I'd thought it up at the beginning, including Jai's "talk" with the CIA Director. Hope Mr. Petraeus doesn't mind my borrowing him for a bit. :)**

**Now that it's done, what do you think? I need to hear from you! I love reviews!**

**Additional A/N:**

**Given the cool, almost icy response to my latest CA fanfic, I gotta say, the want to write more stories for the genre is waning. I know people are reading because of the traffic counts, but if you can't be bothered to give feedback, I can't be bothered to write anymore.**

**I'll probably post a oneshot I wrote just to get it out of the way, and then I'll move on to something else.**


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